The Sabot

By Grace | Feb 11 2013

We obsess over every element of our designs - no stich, tuft or pleat is too small. An inspired detail we have loved for years is the sabot. What is a sabot, you ask? Sabots (pronounced pronounced “sa-boh”), sometimes called ferrules, are in the same hardware family as casters – they are both fittings found at the end of a furniture leg. The key difference is casters have a wheel, while sabots do not – hence the literal French translation of sabot is shoe. Casters and sabots were born out of necessity as they both protected the wooden floors, and the chairs themselves - repeated dragging loosens the joints between the legs and the seat. The sabot has seen many stylistic trends over the years - from the decorative claw foot seen in the late 1700’s and 1800’s to the clean brass cap seen in mid-century furniture.

Our love for mid-century furniture is no secret, the clean lines and details, like the sabot, are what make this period of design so timeless. The genius of the clean-lined sabot is that it added detail, interest, and polish all while keeping with the simplicity of the design. Seemingly trivial, the sabot is anything but – it’s the details that matter, so it’s the details that we obsess over.